Security Footage
by Panic1AtTheHere
Summary: Kai works in a school with his friends. But not just any school. Not just any job. He has, quite possibly, the best job, because this way, he can always see her. But how long will it be before his heart gets the best of him? Will he be able to resist meeting her in person? High school AU. Kailor (duh)
1. Sk-why-lor

**The long-awaited first chapter of Security Footage is here! *party popper***

**This has been one of my favourite stories that I'm writing for about a year now, and I recently reopened my email and went onto Word and found the original draft, and I remembered to start posting this story. So now I am. **

**High school AU. The ninja _DO _have their powers, I just might not make them use them in this story much. Kai's POV. This would be around the time of season four in my eyes, but you can put it anywhere you want. But Kai meets Skylor in this story, so I've always pegged it as season four...**

**OH WELL! I've rambled on way too much now, so...**

**SECURITY FOOTAGE**

**Property of Ninjago City High School. **

She's always the first thing I see on the CCTV camera screens. She's a mystery to me, and one I want to solve. Like, she's the missing piece to the puzzle.

Her bright red hair always stands out on the screens. Not to mention her amber hoodie. My descriptive skills have never been that great, and this one is really vague, and doesn't convey just how much she stands out to me, but she does. And it isn't for her hair or clothes. It's her natural beauty. Her eyes are a light brown, several shades lighter than my own, and her cheekbones are high. Her eyebrows are thin and slanted, the same colour as her hair. Her full lips are always a light, orangy colour. She's gorgeous.

I know her name from the assemblies held before the school days' lessons start. Skylor. It's as beautiful as she is. Everything about her is perfect. Except that one teeny, tiny issue.

She doesn't know I exist.

I work in a school. I'm not a teacher, or a lunch supervisor, or a janitor. No. I watch the security footage of the school in real-time. It's just me and my four best friends. We sit in a secret room known only by us and the rest of the staff. And maybe my little sister. We keep an eye on all of the students in the school, watching out for fights or people trying to leave the school grounds when under the allowed age and whatnot. We make sure that everyone behaves properly, without even getting seen. We are ninja.

Jay sits to my left, Lloyd on my right. Next to Lloyd, there's Zane, and finally Cole. I'm Kai. The five of us work together but alone at the same time. We each have a radio and headphones exclusively for the cameras. We all just wait there for a few hours every day in silence until one or two of us have to alert the staff about a kid trying to sneak over the fence at the end of the field, or a scuffle between a couple of the boys. Yeah, we get bored. Especially Jay. How he manages to sit still all day, I don't know, because he can never do it any other time.

I keep my ears and eyes open and fixed on the footage. Girls and boys, tall and short, new and returning, students and teachers. Those from detention have just been released, and small groups stream from the base of the languages tower, the science department and maths block. Then I finally see her again. Skylor is sitting calmly and alone in the field outside the sports department. One of the larger friend groups sits near her, and she occasionally shoots looks over at the other girls. Jealousy? Is that what I see in her eyes?

Sighing, she stands and walks away. I lose sight of her as she enters the building, emerging through the doors on another screen, overlooked by another of the guys.

The third time I see her that day is just before fourth period begins. Fourth is always just after lunch, with third separating lunch and recess. There are two lessons before recess and two after lunch. This is the penultimate one of the day, and Skylor stands silently in the maths department, leaning against the wall outside the first classroom on the left. She lets her bag slip down her shoulder and land on the floor before she unzips it and pulls a book out. I don't get the chance to identify it before she flips it open. Her class surrounds her, laughing and joking with friends. No one says anything to her, even as she is jostled and pushed by people and bags alike. Once her teacher arrives, the class enters the room and I, once again, lose sight of her. This time, she is on one of Jay's screens, and I have to fight the urge to look over to my left to watch over her, like some guardian angel in red. I watch her take her seat at the back of the class, with a blank stare as the teacher asks question after question. After mentally scolding myself, I yank my eyes off her and look back at my own screens. There are a couple of stragglers, tearing through the campus like scissors through paper to get to their next class, while one kid stays in the middle of the field, refusing point-blank to make his way to class. I radio in to the main staff, and within minutes there are a few lunchtime assistants surrounding him, trying to coax him to class. They are finally successful, and we are now liberated to have our own lunch break. I keep my eyes on Jay's screen, staring intently at Skylor, when I feel a strong hand grab my right shoulder and spin my chair around. My instincts kick in, and a small flame sprouts to life in my raised right hand. Lloyd stands over me, a blond boy in an emerald green jacket and jeans. His hand recoils to prevent a burn, and I sigh and extinguish the flame as Cole and Jay suppress giggles at my reaction. Rolling my eyes, I take my headphones off and let them sit around my neck.

"What? What's going on?" I ask, bewildered. Jay laughs harder while Cole shakes silently. Zane looks at them out of the corner of his eye, confusion crossing his face. The scene is even funnier to Jay, who bends over and gasps for breath. Even Lloyd is chuckling gently now.

"I was asking if you wanted anything from that sandwich place down the road?" He asks, and a realisation hits me like a brick. The punch settles in my stomach. "But you didn't answer. We kept trying to get your attention, practically yelling at you in case you had your headphones too loud, and you just kept staring at this one screen." I can feel my cheeks boiling with every word Lloyd speaks. "So, I'll try one more time. Kai, would you like anything from Sooubway?" I cringe inwardly at the mention of Jay's nickname for the sandwich place round the corner, but I try to not let it show. I nod. "What one?" Lloyd asks as he pulls up the Notes app on his phone. Everyone else's orders are already there, neatly organised.

"The Meatball Melt on Italian bread, please." I place my full order, and Lloyd nods as he types it in.

"I'll be back in half an hour tops. I'll text you guys if I'm held back by anything." The rest of us nod as we turn back to our screens; Jay is still vibrating from laughter, his chair making small clicking noises as it shakes under him.

Ten minutes after Lloyd leaves, Cole speaks up into the silence.

"Anyone seen anything else to report?"

Obviously, none of us have, or we would all know, but Cole is the type of guy to just want to talk. Zane and Jay reply, while I keep staring at one of Lloyd's screens. When one of us is not present in the room, those next to him split his screens, so we still have full coverage of the school and its grounds. I don't hear any of the other three repeat my name. I don't notice them standing behind me. I don't feel Zane's hand on my shoulder until it's there. He grips me hard as my head whips around and my chair spins. Jay and Cole, once again, break down into hysterics. I roll my eyes as a deep blush rises up my cheeks.

"Are you okay, Kai?" Zane asks, concern lacing his normally-monotone voice. I nod quickly. Maybe a little too quickly. The nindroid raises an eyebrow as Cole takes a deep breath to steady himself.

"So, who is she?" He asks, gripping his side. I feign confusion, knitting my eyebrows together. Cole rolls his eyes. "We know the signs! After all, Jay shows them all every time he sees Nya." Jay stops laughing to shoot his best friend a piercing look, pretend betrayal gleaming in his eyes, which spill tears from his eruption.

"Oh." I reply, quietly. I've never been this smitten with a girl before, and I'm nervous to admit it. But I have to. They're basically my family. If I can't tell them, how will I be able to approach a girl in the future? "Her name's Skylor." Jay snickers again, and all three of us send confused looks his way as he brushes at his eyes quickly.

"It's just her name, Jay." Zane scolds softly. "It is no reason to laugh." Jay nods slightly as he starts breathing rapidly to stem his laughter. Cole and I roll our eyes together. _Not another one of his personal puns... _Cole raises his eyebrow as he looks at me, and I shrug. After a minute or two, Cole and Zane return to their seats and start watching their screens again. I also turn around and start scanning the footage in front of me for any issues, but I find nothing. Jay, however, stays standing and remains behind my chair. He slowly leans towards me and whispers in my right ear.

"Sk-why-lor would you want to date her?" He giggles softly as he speaks, and I hear Cole groan quietly.

"I could ask you the same thing about my sister." I shoot back without even turning to face him. The room is silent from tension until both Zane and Cole burst out laughing. _Finally, maybe the guy has actually used his humour switch again. _Jay stands properly again before sitting in his own chair again, blushing like a strawberry. I smirk to myself as I shift my gaze around on the monitors in my face.

Eventually, after twenty-two minutes, (I told you, we get bored) Lloyd returns, and he throws me my sandwich. Jay calls out a meme as my sandwich hurls through the air towards me, and he gains a smack each to the back of the head from Cole and Lloyd, simultaneously. He shuts up again pretty quickly, rubbing the back of his head. Lloyd sits down and takes back his screens, mumbling something to me about paying him back. I nod, not really listening, and rip through the paper around my sandwich. I tear through the bread without even a glance down or a second thought.

**So that was the first chapter of Security Footage. I hope you guys all enjoyed this, and it seems to be of quite a decent length, so I may not update this for a while. Also, I'm attending a Pride celebration tomorrow with family, so I won't really be able to get another chapter out tomorrow. I will try to get stuff out this week though. **

**I will see you all soon. **

**This story has been in the making for about a year now, and I kinda dropped it. I was first writing FanFiction before I even had this app, so I just kept it in books or in Word, which is where this one came from. And I recently reopened my Word, finding the original draft for this story. And now it's being rewritten and released! Hooray!**

**It's somehow, again, before midnight, so I think maybe I am actually just writing quicker. Or maybe I am possessed. Is time possessed maybe? Or is Virgil from A Lesson In Practicality behind this?**

**There may be a few song references in this story as well. So ya know... be prepared. This high school is based off of my own secondary school, and anyone who went/goes there will know exactly how this school is laid out. Buuuut, only, like, one person on here went to my school. And she went with me... oh well. **

**HI DYPHEN! I AM BACK!**

**I'm glad you said you were looking forward to Security Footage (SF) being released. So thank you for all of the support you have had for me and all of my stories so far. You're an amazing friend! Can't wait to see you again on Monday!**

**For the rest of you, however, I bid thee farewell. For however long it may take me to write another chapter and release it. **

**Take care everyone!**

**LunaPikazard**

**P.S: from now on, instead of constantly writing the entire story name every time I mention it, they will be shortened. Gone will remain Gone, though. I can't really shorten that. So this one will become SF, "Help her!" will just be HH!, My Band will be MB, We Aren't Heroes will be WAH, etc. So yeah, that's what that's about. **

**P.P.S: sorry Dyphen, I'm writing about Skylor again. Yep, I think she's my favourite character.**

**P.P.P.S: (is that a thing?) I will try to get WAH out again this weekend too, but like I said, I'm a bit busy, so it may be a stretch. Bye sleep!**


	2. Chen?

**I'm back! I only just released a new chapter of My Band if you haven't read that yet, and if you aren't reading the story, if the reviews are anything to say about it, it's decent. So yeah, if you're into that, go check it out! Shameless plug out of the way, onto...**

***drum roll***

**SECURITY FOOTAGE**

**Property of Ninjago City High S****chool.**

The school day ends two hours after lunch, and we wait until every student in the school who may have seen us otherwise has left before we exit the building. Nya stands just outside the front gates, as always. Jay spots her first and sprints towards her. She sighs, shaking her head, as she spreads her arms to catch his embrace. The rest of us soon catch up, chucking quietly to ourselves as we turn and walk towards my house. The others, except Nya, all live elsewhere. Jay and Lloyd both live with their parents, Cole with his father and Zane alone, which is why he stays over at our place almost as often as Jay does. Tonight is not one of those nights, however.

We arrive back at ours and play video games for a few hours until the others all agree that they need to leave, while Nya retreats to her room to see how much homework she can do before she passes out. I've been constantly trying to get her out of the habit, but so far I've been unsuccessful. Just as she leaves the living room and the front door closes, an idea strikes me hard. I spring up from my seat on the sofa and race after Nya, calling for her attention. She sticks her head out of her doorway, one eyebrow raised, though from annoyance or curiosity I can't tell.

"What's up?" She asks as I slow down next to her, panting heavily.

"Do you know a girl called Skylor Chen?" I ask, nerves hanging in my head, blocking my airways, leaving me slightly light-headed. Nya's eyebrow raises further.

"I know _of_ her, just not personally." She replies and I grit my teeth. This isn't how I pictured this going. Not quite. "Why?" Nya's curiosity pricks me hard, and I mentally brace myself for eternal humiliation and teasing from her and the others. I suck in a deep, cool breath to answer her, but Nya cuts me off, answering her own question. "You like her don't you? Oh, for the sake of the First Spinjitzu Master, Kai! You don't know anything about her! All you know is her name, and that's only because she goes to my school, which is just where you work... when will you stop getting crushes on pretty much every girl you lay eyes on?" Nya exclaims, and I blush deeply while recoiling as if her words had stung me. Well, they kinda did.

"Hey!" My eyes narrow, but Nya crosses her arms over her chest, ignoring me entirely. She bites her lip gently before answering me.

"All I know is that she's a really sporty kid. She comes home from school pretty late on most nights a week because she has after-school sports clubs. She's really competitive as well, in sports and other subjects. She's pretty good at math, science and languages. I've heard rumours that she's fluent in Spanish, which is why you'll never see her in a competition, and some of the teachers keep saying that she needs to be banned from doing the end-of- year tests and everything too. Like, I don't even know why they bother trying to teach her in classes. Not just in Spanish either. I've heard that it can be kinda hard to make her focus on something, and she can be pretty outspoken. She normally takes part in a heck of a lot of competitions around the school, but never art ones. She thinks it sucks, and so does she apparently. She plays piano and guitar as well."

"Holy crap Nya." I reply after a few minutes of pure loss for words. "That's a lot of information. And you said that you didn't know much about her! Holy crap..." it takes me a while to regain the fact that I'm just standing there, in Nya's doorway, looking like a goon. "Thanks." I hurriedly turn and head to my own door. _Time to make a plan of attack. _

"Um, I'm not done." Nya's voice is tiny in the corridor, but it still stands strong like a brick wall in front of me, blocking my path. I spin on my heel and slowly make my way back to her door.

"She's a bit of introvert sometimes, and isn't great with making new friends or meeting new people. She doesn't talk much, but then again, she doesn't have a heck of a lot of people to talk to anyway..." _of course... so that's why she's never with anyone else on the security cameras..._

"Why not?" My curiosity speaks out for me, and I internally kick myself after I ask.

"Some other girl who Skylor claims is her adopted sister once said that she's the daughter of some psychopath who runs some kind of cult who wanna take over Ninjago or something." Nya shrugs, and my mouth drops as my eyes bulge. Chen? Is that a well-known name? Why haven't I heard of it before now?

"Nya... how do you know so much about her if you don't know her on a personal level?" I ask, and Nya ducks her gaze, watching the floor instead.

"We've crossed paths a few times." My sister replies, her eyes rapidly shooting up for a second to meet mine as she flashes me a quick smile before she bids me goodnight and closes her door, sealing herself off from the outside world once more. _Jeez, I hate it when she's so cryptic. Oh well._

I turn and start to slowly make my way back to my own room again. Now _it's time to make a plan of attack. _

**A/N: so that's all for now, folks. I'm sorry this one is so short, I'm really tired and tonight wasn't exactly easy for me in an emotional way. I also had my second session of group therapy today, which really wasn't easy as it brought up a lot of unpleasant feelings, memories and thoughts, so yeah, not a great day today. Oh well. I'm hoping to get another chapter of this out again soon, but My Band is currently my priority. Yeah, shit's going _down hard _in that story right now, and people have been massaging me and begging for new updates for that soon, so I have to oblige. Of course, "Help her!" should also be coming out again soon, so stay tuned for that if you've been reading it. **

**Thank you all for reading this, and I'll see you all soon!**

**-LunaPikazard**


	3. “Can I have your number?”

**Welcome to the third chapter of Security Footage! Not sure what to say here, so I'll just give you the chapter. See you all later!**

Nya runs into my room, asking about some book that she needs for class. I tell her to look on the kitchen table since 'I'm sure it was there', but she claims to have already checked there. I bite my lip. Where else can I tell her to look to lead her away from my plan?

"Maybe you should search your room one more time. Surely, if you've looked in the kitchen and living room, that's the only other place it could be?" I suggest, crossing my fingers behind my back, hoping she'll give in and do so. She sighs before thanking me and ducking out of my room, mumbling something about where the book could be. I let out the breath that I had subconsciously been holding, and pull the book out from behind one of my random backpacks. I chuckle quietly to myself as I leave the room and walk into the kitchen. Nya isn't in there.

Half an hour later, Nya and I leave the house, making our way towards New Ninjago City.

"You could have told me that you needed my book for your plan today."

I freeze. _What?! How does she know?! _Like always, Nya seems to read my thoughts, and she raises an eyebrow at me before continuing on her walk to her school. "I saw your plans on your desk. You're not exactly incognito, you know." She laughs, and I blush. Deeply. As in, so deep I can feel my cheeks boiling. Nya only laughs harder. I scowl at her before following her. I stop at the bus stop, and Nya takes her book from her bag, slapping it into my hand. _Damn._

Nya chuckles at my shocked expression before she turns and walks further down the path, waving over her shoulder to me. Wow. She really _did _see my plan. She knew that I would stop here and turn back to go home, claiming I'd forgotten something or suddenly remembered where her book had been. Smart girl. No wonder she goes to _this _school out of all of them.

Nya's school is apparently for 'high-intellect students', but there are _some _people in this school that shouldn't be there unless they're meeting a smarter sibling after school. Honestly.

Once Nya is fully out of sight, I turn and head toward Ninjago City, going over my plan one more time in my head, altering it slightly to fit the new situation. As I enter the outskirts of the city, I pull myself over to one of the alleyways and whip my phone out of my back pocket. Lloyd's number appears on the speed dial, due to my expert planning from last night, and I click the call button then press the mobile to my ear. It rings two or three times before the green ninja answers it.

_"Hello? Kai? What's up?" _

"Lloyd, I don't think I'm gonna make it to the school on time today. Can you and Jay split my screens for a bit?" _Pleasesayyes, pleasesayyes, pleasesayyes—_

_"Yeah sure. Just don't be too long, okay?" _

"Yeah, for sure. Thanks man!" _Aaaaaaaand, breathe!_

I slip my phone back into my pocket and go to lean against the wall when a voice hits my ears. It's feminine for sure, and it sounds tired and frustrated. And nearby.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, Clouse. Tell Dad I'll be there at about six." They say, and I hear another person sigh.

"Very well, Miss Chen." This one is definitely from a dude, his voice low, very monotone and drawn-out. He holds his 's' sounds, similar to a serpent. **(Damn, try saying that five times fast. That was probably the best tongue twister I've made in a story so far! Okay, that's saying something about my tongue twisters...) **I poke my head out from the shadows of the alley and see a girl walking away from a strange-looking man who stands in a doorway, watching her go with a weird look on his face, one that looks like hatred mixed with jealousy and a hint of an emotion that says 'I know something you don't'. A chill runs down my spine even as I move my gaze from the man towards the girl he spoke to. No way... it's...

It's Skylor.

_She lives in New Ninjago City?! Like, _in _New Ninjago City?! Actually _IN _it?! _She rolls her eyes as she pulls earbuds out of her pocket, plugging them into her phone. She walks on, ignoring the man and me. I watch her go for about a minute before my senses return, and I race out of the shadowy alley. My feet carry me through the town centre, darting through different alleys and down streets and around corners. Somehow, I manage to get back onto the school road before Skylor does. As she strolls down the path, other kids jostle and push her, though she takes every blow as if it were simply part of the breeze. My brow furrows. Soon enough, she reaches the front of the school, and she removes her earphones. She seems to be the last kid in the school who has yet to enter the building. Wow, we took ages getting here... whoops.

I anxiously run my fingers through my spikes as she approaches, and I realise just in time that it's literally now or never at all. I run forward. And crash into her. Hard. A lot harder than I meant to.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to—" I start to stutter, but she quickly shushes me.

"Oh no, it's okay, you don't need to apologise! I wasn't looking where I was going. I'm sorry." She replies, her voice soft and gentle. My heart skips a beat.

She's even prettier than the cameras show. Her eyes are flecked with a million shades of brown and gold, swirling around and around, though none are quite as dark as the shade of mine or Nya's. They shine bright in the sunlight. Her hair is luminous scarlet, not the dim red I see on the screens. She has a few light freckles on her cheeks, dotted around randomly. She looks up at me kindly, eyes wide and sparkling. I can feel my mouth hanging open slightly for a few seconds before I snap it shut and regain my senses for the second time in half an hour. _New personal best. _I rub the back of my neck awkwardly as I turn to head towards the school building. She follows behind me and something overtakes my mind. I rapidly step to the side in front of the gates and bow slightly in a playful way.

"Ladies first." I say in a 'charming' voice. _God, I'm such a loser. _Skylor giggles to herself as she walks past me, ducking her head slightly in a nod of thanks.

"So what are you here for today?" She asks, and I look at her with a confused expression on my face. "I mean, you don't have a bag, just a reading book, and I've never seen you in school before, even though we look to be in the same year." _Oh. Well played, Skylor Chen. Well played. _"You don't attend this school, do you?" She asks, and I shake my head.

"No, I don't. My sister does though. Her name is Nya. Nya Smith. Do you know her? She's two years younger than me. In year—"

"Nine?" Skylor shoots me a look and I stare at her, eyes wide in shock. Again. She laughs to herself once more and I can feel something flutter inside my chest. "Yeah, I know her. Well, I know _of _her." Skylor quickly corrects herself, before mumbling, "Who doesn't?" _Wait, what? _

I nod slowly to myself as I try to decipher what she meant.

"Well, this is where I think we part ways." Her voice penetrates my thoughts like a sharp knife through melting butter, and my head snaps up again. Indeed, it is where we should split up. The student entrance is slightly further around the building, while the guest entrance is right next to us, to our left. I nod quickly, and rub the back of my neck again.

"I'm Skylor by the way. Skylor Chen." She says as she extends her arm to me. _I know. No, I can't say that! Just act natural. _

"I'm Kai. Kai Smith." I reply as I shake her hand. We exchange smiles and she turns away from me. That is, until a sudden shouted question escapes my lips, one I didn't know was even there in the first place.

"Can I have your number?"

Skylor freezes mid-step. She glances over her shoulder before slowly turning her entire body to face me again. She smiles slightly.

"Sure. Do you have something to write it on?" I shake my head, embarrassed, and Skylor chuckles as she pulls a small piece of paper from her pocket. She rips the paper in half and pulls a pen from her pocket at the front of her jumper. She scribbles down a series of numbers before handing me the paper and pen. I quickly write my own number on the first half of the paper - the one she gave me before, the blank one - and give her my half. I then return her pen and she folds the paper in half before slipping it into her pocket.

"See you later Kai." She smiles as she turns and walks away. "I'll text you later!" She calls over her shoulder, and I nod quickly. _HELL YEAH! _

Hardly holding in my excitement, I open the front doors of the guest entrance and buzz on the button on the wall to be granted entry. I am soon allowed into the building, and I push the door open.

The school's foyer is chaos, with students congregating left, right and centre. I blink rapidly as I try to sieve through the madness for a sign of my younger sister.

"Kai!" I hear a voice call over the noise. "Kai! Over here Kai!" Nya runs towards me from the other side of the room, gaining the attention of a few of the teachers in the room. Calls of 'stop running!' and 'walk!' ring through the foyer, but they bounce off Nya's skin without leaving a single mark. She slows to a stop beside me and takes her book from me.

"So..." She starts, and I can feel the warning signs of a shit-storm brewing. "How did it go? Did you get a date? Her number?" I look at Nya with a blank expression on my face before taking a deep breath.

"I got her number. We're gonna text each other tonight." I reply, and Nya grins at me before turning away and waving over her shoulder.

"Well done! See you later!" She calls, and I sigh before turning to leave the building.

Within twenty minutes, I receive a message from Lloyd giving me the green light to come back into the school building without any students following me and finding the security room. Confused, I knock on the door before letting myself in. My eyes slowly adjust to the drop in light and land on four figures, three of which hide snickers behind their hands. _Let the shit-storm begin. _

**Sorry I took so long to get this new chapter out! I've been releasing other stories though, and my depression kinda made me lose a bit of interest in writing, but I can't leave these stories unfinished. I _have _to finish them. All of them. **

**Okay, so I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter! As for ages, all the ninja except Lloyd and Nya (she counts) would be in year eleven in high school, while Nya and Lloyd would both be in ninth I think. Lloyd is a couple months younger than Nya in my eyes, after the Tomorrow's Tea incident anyway. **

**So now Kai has Skylor's number! Hell yeah! Getting back on track though, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and if you have any feedback or questions, don't forget to leave them in the reviews or PM me. **

**I hope to see you all soon!**

**-LunaPikazard**


	4. Is this a date?

**Yay! This story is still alive! Holy crap, _I'm _still alive! That's right! Neither school or depression have made me kick the bucket yet!**

**Anyway, welcome back to Security Footage! Sorry for the long break, but I've not been in the place for writing recently, and my life has seemingly taken a turn for the worst at the moment. So yeah, life is not good right now! :)**

**But here's the new chapter! See you all at the end of it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters except my OC's! I own the storyline as well but that's about it. **

**Disclaimer: this chapter may have some sentences that can be taken in a few ways depending on how you interpret them. I do not mean any offence with these, but if they cause any, I am very sorry and please let me know so I can avoid causing any more offence in the future. Thank you. **

I take a deep breath before stepping into the dark screen room, noticing everyone's eyes on me. Jay is trying to stifle his hysterical laughter while Cole and Lloyd openly chuckle. Only Zane keeps a straight face even as the blush deepens my cheeks to a bright, burning crimson. I lower myself into my swivel chair before Jay finally lets the laughter loose. He creases in his chair as the door slowly shuts, the thin line of light decreasing steadily. I bite my lip as Zane and Lloyd turn to face me, their gazes steely. Lloyd soon breaks his expression and a smile teases his lips for a few seconds before he lets out a few more giggles. I cross my arms and my blush increases, somehow.

"So that's why you were late." Zane drawls on, his voice still its regular monotone. Lloyd slowly returns to seriousness and Cole soon follows suit, though Jay continues to laugh to my right. I feign confusion.

"What are you talking about?" I ask, raising my eyebrow. I can be quite thorough with my pretending. The others exchange glances before Lloyd beckons me over to Cole's section. All of my teammates crowd around the screens as Cole clicks on one and turns up the volume, allowing the sound to enter the actual room instead of just playing though his solid black headphones. I bite my lip and blush somehow even deeper. _How damn red can my cheeks get?! _

The footage has been wound backwards and now shows me and Skylor walking into the school together, chatting merrily. It shows us parting ways, and I hear my voice clearly as I call for Skylor's number. The others all burst into laughter again, minus Zane, and even I have to bite my lip to stop an embarrassed chuckle from escaping my mouth. Though this time, I notice something.

Skylor's cheeks shine a bright red, something I hadn't noticed in the moment. She had also kept throwing me sideways glances as we walked, and I realise just how long we had stared at each other at the gates after I crashed into her.

My breath catches in my throat.

Maybe she likes me back.

The day passes in a strange blur. One minute, I'm outside talking to Skylor, the next I'm inside and rewatching the security footage, then I'm explaining to my friends how I've had a massive crush on her for ages, followed closely by long hours of teasing from the others that pass in a haze. I don't even take my eyes off my screens as Lloyd collects everyone's orders for Sooubway at lunch. I don't pay attention to Zane and Jay both calling the staff at different times throughout the day to report on specific kids breaking rules or getting into fights. I only replay that morning over and over again in my head, trying desperately to remember if there were any more signs of Skylor liking me back, any flirtatious moves made or words spoken. Naturally, my imagination alters something new every time I run though the memory, and I soon give up. She was most likely just embarrassed at my shout for her number in front of her school. Maybe she recognised me from somewhere and was trying to figure out where that was. Maybe...

All in all, there could be hundreds of reasons for any actions that morning, and I'd never know them. The thought tears at my heart and my stomach sinks to my feet. The monster inside slowly rips me apart from the inside out, and tears stab at my eyes. Furiously, I brush them away and close my eyes, breathing slowly.

Today is going to be hard.

**_~~~_**

_"Hey."_

The message is short and concise, yet my heart still goes crazy. It beats rapidly in my chest as I breathe quickly. Nya slides me a side-eye glance before realising who has texted me. Within seconds, she is leaning over my right shoulder, trying her hardest to read the message. Scandalised, I tighten my grip on my phone and practically run to my room, slamming the door shut behind me and barring it with the chair from my desk. Exhaling deeply, I drop onto my scarlet-covered bed and lean back against my pillows before unlocking my phone. Another ping and a notification dropping down from the top of screen indicate another message coming through.

_"It's Skylor."_

_"Hey." _I reply, grinning widely. _"It's Kai."_

_"Oh thank goodness, for a second there I thought you might have given me a false number! XD" _She replies, and I can almost feel her sigh and laugh coming through the screen in her words. My expression subconsciously changes.

_"Did I really hit you like that kind of guy? I don't think I've ever given anyone a false number on purpose." _I reply, part of my brain nervously biting its lip while the rest of it smirks fondly.

_"No, I was just worrying. It wouldn't be the first time I've been stood up tbh" _comes the reply. My jaw drops slightly and my eyebrows droop.

_"What?! Why would anyone give you of all people a false number?" _The text seems like a flirt when I reread it as it sends, and I immediately regret hitting that button. Skylor, on the other hand, doesn't seem too bothered by it.

_"That's sweet of you, but any and all of my adopted sister's friends would love to get a chance to stick me up any time in any way. If she would allow them, of course..."_

My mood drops further and I bite my lip harder. _"Well, it sounds to me like she doesn't deserve to be your sister, whether she's adopted or not. Nor do her friends, it seems."_

Skylor is silent for a few minutes but her texting bubble appears and disappears continuously, so I imagine she's simply trying to figure out what to say. After a while, I get a message back. _"Thanks. That actually means a lot to me. :)"_

_"It's okay ;)" _I reply. _Oh shit. The winking face! The downfall of all flirting texts!! NOOOO!!!_

_";)" _

**_Holy shit. _**

My mind leaves my body in an instance, and I lose control over myself. I leap up from the bed and punch the air triumphantly. _Holyshit, holyshit, holyshit, holyshit, holyshiiiiiit!!_

_"Strange question, but are you free any day this week? Particularly the weekend?" _My phone vibrates, and I read the message, my heart skipping a beat as it launches itself up my throat and into my mouth, my eyes wide in shock, my mouth hanging open slightly. It must be a humourous sight.

_"Yeah, I'm free at the weekend. Why? You wanna meet up?" _I ask hopefully. Who am I kidding, this is just wishful thinking...

_"Yeah, if you want to as well. You don't have to, but I think it would be nice if we got to know each other a bit. You seem nice." _Maybe not...

A thought hits me hard on the side of the head. Is this classed as a date?

**_~~~_**

From now on, I am forever classing this as a date.

We meet up in the park near midday on Saturday. As I expected, Skylor is in her usual black jeans and amber hoodie, her ruby hair pulled into the ever-present, never-changing ponytail. She smiles gently as I enter her view, and I can feel my heart's pace speed up in my chest as I approach her.

"Heya." I grin, and Skylor steps towards me. She extends her arm and I shake her hand before she pulls me into a loose hug.

"You okay?" She asks, and I nod before returning the question. She replies along the same lines as my answer and we take off down the path through the park.

"How's school been? Anything new?" I cast her a glance out of the side of my eye, and she meets me gaze before quickly ducking her head, as if from... embarrassment?

"Eh, about average." She giggles, shrugging her shoulders. However, her cheery demeanour doesn't last too long. Within minutes, she stops dead in her tracks, her eyes fixed on a small group of laughing kids around our age off to our left-hand side. She bites her lip as I walk slowly towards her. One of the girls of the group, one with light brown hair in a ponytail similar to Skylor's, looks over her shoulder and spots the redhead. The stranger sneers before nudging a few of the group members, all of whom turn to follow her gaze. She then discharges herself from the cluster of kids and approaches us with a swagger in her step that I've never seen before.

"Hello Skylor _Chen!_" The girl announces, loud enough for most people in the park to hear. Many turn their heads to face Skylor and shy away. A few even take a couple steps backwards. Skylor bites her lip harder but keeps silent. "Come to spread false rumours about me again?" The girl laughs before her eyes land on me. She raises an eyebrow. "Really, hun? You're going around with _her?!_" The group of teens over to the side join in her laughter and Skylor shuffles uncomfortably on her feet.

"Back off Leah." She growls quietly, but the brunette, who I assume is Leah, doesn't seem to hear her. Instead, she continues to sneer at me.

"Of all the chicks in Ninjago City, you're gonna hang out with the daughter of _Master Chen?!_" I join Skylor in biting my lip for a few seconds as I think of a snappy retort. _Damn it, this is normally my strong suit..._

"Well, at least there's only one person who hangs out with me even though I'm Chen's daughter and not half the school." Skylor hisses in Leah's ear, and the brunette goes silent, a light pink blush dusting her cheeks. "That's what I thought. Bitch." Skylor takes my hand and pulls me away from Leah before either she or I can fully comprehend what happened. Immediately, my brain implodes and seems to enter some kind of panic mode. _She is touching my hand! She is touching my hand! Wait, scratch that, she's HOLDING MY HAND! _Skylor only lets go of it when we reach the gates on the other side of the park. She steps forward to hold the gate open before I launch myself in front of her, blocking her path. I make sure that Leah and her friends are nowhere to be seen.

"Was that your adopted sister?" I practically whisper. Skylor nods with a black expression on her face. "Is she always like that?" Her red head bobs again, though Skylor refuses to lift her gaze and meet my eyes. She simply pushes past me and opens the gate.

"Coming?" She fires over her shoulder, and I follow her, numb and blind. I bite my lip again, hard, as we continue our walk, side by side, until we approach the city. The skyscrapers tower over our heads, casting long shadows over the ground. Taking a deep breath, I wrap Skylor's hand in my own even as we stroll down the city streets. I can feel her tense up slightly next to me, though she merely shoots me a side-eye glance and a small smile.

Bright neon lights shine all around us, lighting up the pavement and reflecting off of the glistening paint of passing cars. I take another deep breath and the smells of the city tear through my system. I gently tug on Skylor's hand as Ninjago's best noodle house enters my field of vision, its lights standing out even more than any others in the mess above and around us.

"Master Chen's Noodle House?" I ask, one eyebrow quirking upwards. Skylor doesn't get the chance to respond before I hear her name called down the street.

"Skylor!" The voice seems familiar to me, though I can't quite put my finger on where I've heard it before. Our heads whip around in confusion and a strange look paints itself over Skylor's face, one of something akin to fear or horror. Something isn't right.

Finally, I realise where the voice must have come from.

The same man I saw that very morning approaches us, fury and malice in his black eyes. He completely ignores me and starts to verbally tear into Skylor, who stammers her responses and backtracks a bit, blushing.

"Come now, your father wants you back immediately." The man snatches Skylor's arm before turning to face me. Slowly, as if he has only just noticed me, he releases his grip on her and lowers his arm back down to his side. "And who might you be?" He asks, his voice drawling out as it had mere hours ago. His eyes narrow at me, his face steely.

"He's a friend." Skylor pipes up nervously, barely bringing herself to make eye-contact with me. The man shoots her a harsh glare over his right shoulder and she promptly retreats and silences herself.

"Is that so?" He sneers. I can feel my face become a scowl, an animalistic growl building up in my throat. I grind my teeth against themselves, a habit I really need to get out of.

"Please Clouse, leave him out of this, nothing's happened to me! You don't need to be worried or anything-" Skylor blurts out. The man, Clouse, whips his head around and his hand seems to rise instinctively. Skylor flinches and steps back again.

"You listen to me now, _Skylor Chen._" He snarls, leaning in close to Skylor. "I am not worried about you or your safety. To be perfectly honest, I never have been, and I never will be. You know I only pretend to care about you because of your father, so don't ever come out with such bullshit again. You understand me?" Skylor bites her lip and doesn't say a word. Clouse nods and makes a strange noise, almost like a huff of triumph. Something's off about him, and a creeping feeling enters my gut while my stomach churns due to worry. Without another word, Clouse wraps his black-gloved hand around Skylor's amber wrist again and starts to drag her down the street without a single glance back towards me. Skylor soon falls into pace with him, though she shoots a nervous look over her shoulder in my general deirection in the split second she has before the man's other hand forces her head back around.

Two hours later, I receive one text.

_"Hey. I hope you're okay. I'm sorry for what happened earlier, Clouse really doesn't like me. Anyway, I hope you're faring better than I am. I hope I can see you again soon, but I fully understand if you just want to forget what happened entirely and move on with life. I won't hold you back, I just wanna say that I'm sorry for what he did. See you later, hopefully. Bye."_

Still nervous, I pick up my phone and type a reply.

_"Hey, I'm okay, thanks, and I hope you are too. It's okay, what happened wasn't your fault, and he had no reason to take that out on you. I hope this won't be the last time I can see you, but even if it is, I had fun, so I hope you did too. I doubt I'll ever forget you, and I'd like to think you feel the same. I hope you're okay, because that Clouse guy seems a bit cruel. I'll see you later. Bye. ;)"_

The response comes within a minute, the sight of it making me smile.

_"I'm glad you had fun too. And yeah, I'm okay. Glad you are too. Can't wait to see you again then. ;)"_

Smiling, I select one of my cat GIFs and send it over, hoping that Skylor laughs as hard as I do at it. Sure enough, I receive an 'XD' for it, and a smile plays at the corners of my lips.

In the back of my mind, however, a serpent coils around itself, unsure of whether it can truly find the best cure for its hunger and resorting to trying to devour its own tail. Animals run riot, chasing their tails and making a racket. I don't understand what had happened, but I know that Skylor needs some help to escape that Clouse guy. And I am more than willing to volunteer myself as tribute.

**I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter, and, as usual, if you have any questions, feedback, constructive criticism or comments, feel free to leave them in the comments or PM me. **

**Also, I would love it if someone could give me a plot for a shipping one-shot for Kai and Nya that I need to write for the first of a collection of non-canon shipping one-shots that I have dared myself to write. So far, I have most of the other plots and it's only this one that I need a story for, so if anyone can come up with anything, let me know. Thanks. **

**Also, a quick notice. **

**I understand that I may take a while to update my stories, but I do have literally about fifteen of them going all at once. I am trying very hard to get into a rhythm but it is rather difficult since I have school which takes up most of the day, so I must resort to writing these late at night or early in the morning. By which I mean at about twenty past one in the morning. There are several nights a week where I don't get any sleep at all, all because I am so devoted to these stories. And I appreciate every PM, review, favourite or follow I receive. However, I also have rather bad anxiety and depression, which often put me in situations where I'd rather be doing anything else than writing these stories. And recently, I have felt that I haven't been in one of my best places. This has led to me falling slightly behind my schedule, so please have some patience when it takes a bit longer than usual for an update on this story or any of my other ones. I am combatting these mental health issues, and on a good night I can get up to three updates out. However, these are quite rare, so please have some patience. **

**In short, I am always trying my hardest to get these updates out and for them to still be as high-quality as I can make them, but I am struggling with mental health issues which result in some periods of my life, even months sometimes, where I will not write _anything, _so please, while enjoying these stories I write, have some patience when the updates don't come as soon as you would like them to. **

**Thank you all, and I hope you have a good Christmas. Or, if you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you have an enjoyable holiday period, whether you're abroad or chilling at home like I will be. **

**See you all soon!**

**Peace out!**

**-LunaPikazard**


	5. The Park

**Welcome back to Security Footage, folks!**

**I know it's been a while since I posted the previous chapter, and I've explained the absence in my other works, such as Running Wild, Shifting the Scales of Balance and my Attempts At Funny Dialogues. Basically I've been struggling with my mental health again recently, my schoolwork has been piling up (let's be honest, I'm probably not gonna do most of it anyway), I've been trying to draw enough to keep my own sanity and accounts alive, post stories and a whole lot more, so yeah, I have quite a lot of stuff to do. Anyway, writing and drawing are my current priorities, so hopefully I'll be able to post more soon, but unfortunately I can't make any promises since I'm already behind on my schoolwork...**

**Anyway, welcome to the new chapter of...**

**SECURITY FOOTAGE**

**PROPERTY OF NINJAGO CITY HIGH SCHOOL**

The next time I see Skylor, she's back in her Biology classroom, about to start her second lesson of the day. The rest of my weekend had passed in a hazy, slightly miserable blur with nothing in my head besides concern for Skylor. She had ignored any and all messages I'd sent yesterday, and so far I'm not sure whether I should believe her 'I didn't have my phone yesterday' excuse or not.

Either way, I am glad that she's okay, at least from what I can see from through the screens.

The bell rings and Skylor's head snaps up from her notes, her eyes wide. She quickly starts packing her equipment back into her bag before closing her folder and shoving it behind her other subject books. She swings the bag onto one shoulder and watches silently as the teacher waves his hand and dismisses the class.

I watch without a word as some of her classmates brush past Skylor as if she doesn't exist and her face falls with every person who walks by. She leaves the classroom and turns left down the corridor, vanishing completely from my sight.

The day passes surprisingly quick, and it feels like only a few hours until I am walking out of the school's gates with the other guys, laughing and joking as we make our way towards the town. Nya has already left, not standing by the bus stop, and Jay and I both get notifications from text messages at the same time. I send a sideways glare as we open up our phones and see almost identical messages from my little sister, telling us to meet her at this one specific place in the town. I pass the message on, verbally, to the other guys and we head into the town together, still talking.

We find Nya wishing a few of her friends a good night on the main street before she walks towards us, not looking back at her friends once. She grins widely at us as Jay jogs towards her and wraps his arms around her body. She then returns the gesture and holds him tight for a few seconds before pulling back and planting a gentle kiss on his left cheek and walking towards the rest of us. She and I exchange high-fives and she gestures for us to follow her somewhere. I glance at the others and shrug my shoulders wordlessly even as I take a step forward.

We simply walk, chatting, laughing and joking, in this one particular direction, soon ending up in this beautiful little park.

To our right, a wide expanse of grass rolls, two large, white, netless soccer goals standing proud, one at each end. The grass is bright, emerald green and shines in the sunlight, dew illuminated by the slowly-falling sun and sparkling like tiny jewels. In front of us sits a swing frame, two swings gently moving backwards and forwards in the light breeze. Towards our left, there is a large, tall children's climbing frame, small drops of water glistening on every surface and creating a glowing illusion. Past the frame is a set of kids' swings and a smaller play area for toddlers. Further down the path is a wide but short red brick wall, for some reason, with plants, bushes and trees surrounding it and hiding this side of it from our view. Past the wall is a small section of grass, lined with trees along the left and back, perfect for teens playing soccer when the larger field is occupied or practising their shooting or keeping. Across the path, hidden by another line of trees, are three slopes, the smallest one closest to us while the tallest one is right in the back left corner from where we stand. To the left of that mound is a second entrance to the park. Small, brown, wooden benches are dotted along the edges, one next to the swing set in front of us, one between the toddler climbing frame and swings, one to our right but a short distance from the nearest soccer goal, and one on the edge of the path, next to the trees that guard the smallest mound to our front left.

I can feel ideas and fantasies flood into my head at the sight of the park, and Jay's small but noticeable gasp to my right shakes me from my mind.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Nya's voice attractes our attention, and she gestures towards the rolling grass to our right, surrounded by young trees that separate our little rectangle of heaven from the large rest of civilisation outside. I nod in awe, my heart beating strongly in my chest as I watch the individual blades of grass sway gracefully in the breeze sweeping through the park from my left side.

We stay in that park until the sun sits on the horizon far off in the distance, the sky looking like spilt paint on a canvas, somehow an attractive blend of colours ranging from dark blue to a gentle orange.

The sight would be enough to bring tears to eyes. Not mine though, definitely not.

I blink a few times to shake myself from more fantasies that plague my mind as Nya waves her hand in front of my face.

"Ninjago to Kai!" She laughs as my eyes focus on her and narrow playfully. I swat her hand away and sit up from where I had been laying on my back, staring up at the gorgeous array of colours above me. "We're heading home now." I nod and get to my feet, casting one more look up to the sunset before turning my back on it and following the others out of the exit, passing the three mounds on the right.

I unlock the door to my and Nya's house and push it open, stepping in and wiping my shoes on the mat. I take the trainers off and drop them into their places on the shoe rack before walking off into the kitchen to make a quick dinner for both of us.

"Are you okay, Kai?" Nya's voice, once again, attracts my attention, and I turn my head to face her. Her expression seems to be one of... worry, for whatever reason. I nod, then realise that's the issue - I haven't spoken at all since earlier that day to the other guys.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just haven't been in a talking mood today, that's all." I shrug the question off, but Nya doesn't seem satisfied with my answer.

"Seriously, what's wrong?" She asks again, and I take a deep breath to calm myself so that I don't snap at her like I used to.

"Nothing, honestly." She then drops the matter.

Two hours later, we've eaten and Nya is now in her room doing... whatever, while I'm typing up a Word document onto my laptop.

I tap the enter button proudly, signalling to myself that I've finished my type-up. I lean back in my chair, reading back through the words on my screen.

Yep, everything is accurate.

Now, all I need are a few things...

1) directions to that park that I can remember and apply whenever necessary

2) a way to talk to Skylor again

3) an alibi

4) maybe another one, as well as possibly a fake name and address

And 5) a nicer shirt.

**Okay so I know I was away for a while, but I've just been really busy with online schoolwork, as well as trying to keep my relationship alive and talking to friends and going outside (unfortunately if mum says we're walking tonight, we're walking tonight, no questions asked). **

**But, on another note, at the time of writing it's only ten days until my birthday!**

**One year closer to death :)**

**Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, like always, and I am, of course, still taking requests during this horrible quarantine period. Usual terms apply - DM me or leave a review with as many details as possible and I'll see what I can do. **

**I hope you are all staying healthy, happy and safe during these uncertain times. **

**See y'all soon!**

**Thanks for reading**

**Stay safe, stay home, stay alive**

**-Panic1AtTheEverywhere**


	6. Planning again

Hi everyone! Yeah yeah I know, it's been literal months since I last uploaded this, about half a year, but I do actually have a life haha.

Anyway, welcome back to Security Footage! It's been way too long holy crap-

Okay let's go!

SECURITY FOOTAGE

Property of Ninjago City High School

The next day is... uneventful to say the least.

For once, there are no fights, everyone gets to class on time other than one or two with planned absences due to doctors' and dentists' appointments, everyone goes the right ways down the corridors instead of just running out the entrance of the Maths Block because it's closer. No one's at the lockers when they shouldn't be, everyone who goes to the bathroom visibly has a hall pass, no one runs from their classes, literally nothing happens.

Until the end of the day.

I watch Skylor leave with the rest of her school's students, a flood of teenagers racing out of the large gates and onto the streets of the outskirts of Ninjago City, a stampede of hormones and shouts. I pull my phone from my pocket as Skylor passes through the gates, her own phone in her hand in a few seconds.

_"Hey"_

I watch as Skylor's phone screen flashes and her eyes snap to it, her thumb hovering over the home button. Soon, she is out of my sight, walking down the path on her way back to wherever her house is exactly. It isn't long, however, until a message tone pings loudly in the screen room. The four other pairs of eyes in the room immediately snap to me and my cheeks start to flare up slightly as I put my phone onto to silence and unlock it.

_"Hiya, what's up?"_

I smile softly as the _read _receipt shows up and her bubble appears, showing she's typing out a reply.

Before I know it, twenty minutes have already passed and I'm outside the school with Nya and the other guys. Nya's voice faintly reaches me, and I'm snapped out of my thoughts.

"What?"

Nya sighs loudly before letting go of Jay's hand and making her way over to me, stepping around Zane and Cole who snicker behind their hands.

"I said, you do realise you can invite her out with us right?"

I can literally feel the cogs in my head spin for a good ten seconds before what Nya said clicks and a bright, shining lightbulb in my head blinds me.

"Nya." She blinks at me, one eyebrow raised slightly. I lift my eyes from the path and fix them on Nya's. "You're a genius."

"No, I just use the brain cells I was born with."

When the guys finally leave our house, even Jay eventually, I reopen my chat with Skylor from earlier this evening. I scroll back to the first few messages and only then does the amount of texts hit me. _Holy shit..._

How does the girl I only formally met a few days ago have my full trust so soon?

A soft knock on my bedroom door shocks me and I turn my phone off just as Nya opens the door and pokes her head in.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She asks, worry dripping heavily from her voice. Her expression is concerned, more so than I've ever seen her. I raise one eyebrow as I nod slowly, but Nya's brow only furrows in response. "You've been spacing out and whatnot a lot over the past week or so, and you're normally one of the most alert people in the group. I just don't get what's gotten you to be like this."

I decide not to tell her the true reason, so I just shrug and mutter something about not knowing either. After a few more minutes of conversation, Nya says goodnight and leaves, heading to bed for the night.

As soon as she leaves, I open up my laptop again and edit my previous plan, borrowing one or two of Nya's extra brain cells.

**Hi everyone, thanks for reading and I hope you all enjoyed this. I know it's really short but heyho, I'm gonna have more up soon. **

**I'm gonna be making some slight changes to uploading, though, since I want to get longer chapters out sooner for multiple stories, either because they're taking too long to get to the main story in my opinion or I just want them to hurry up or whatever, so if any stories get updates really soon that will probably be why. **

**Again, sorry for how short this is but I'm kinda going through writer's block again and school is in full swing again so I do have a lot on my plate right now. But I am trying my hardest to keep writing so thank you all for your patience.**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter and don't worry, stuff will actually happen soon, I'm just trying to keep updating at the moment while also making time for myself, my schoolwork and homework, etc.**

**Thanks again for your patience and for reading, and I'll see you again soon.**

**Stay safe, stay alive**

**-PanicAtTheHere**


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